Consultant's condemn Ahern fudging A&E crisis

The Irish Hospital Consultants' Association has joined the Irish Nurses Organisation in condemning the Taoiseach's attempts to play down the A&E crisis.

The association said Bertie Ahern had displayed an amazing lack of understanding by claiming the problem of overcrowding in accident and emergency departments was limited to just five or six hospitals.

Donal Duffy, the IHCA's assistant general secretary, said: "You hear on a daily basis numbers of the order of 400 patients awaiting access to hospital beds.

"That amounts to one in every eight patients who attend our A&E departments and the stark reality behind these figures is outlined by anecdotal reports that patients are requiring minders to protect their beds or trolleys so they can just go to the toilet.

"That's an abominable situation."